Partially. I trust you not to be a dick. I trust you with my home address. I still don't trust you not to turn around and shove a knife in my back if something else comes up, but don't take that personally. I don't trust a lot of people.
( and the ones he does, it's only because he's either known them for years or because they keep stepping on him. )
There's different kinds of dicks, y'know. There's being a dick, then there's ( raising a hand, in some kind of a vague hand gesture. ) needing to stab someone in the back for reasons. Y'know.
See, Genie? This's why you gotta know how to defend yourself.
( because he's soft. because hes a soldier, sure. but jason expects gene to get himself into situations that his words won't get him out of. and he's not weak. he's stubborn as hell, determined, definitely not weak. but maybe a bit easy to throw off guard sometimes and that's concerning enough on it's own. )
Not everything needs to come back to throwin' hands.
( his fingers tighten on the beer bottle. )
I've seen enough of fightin'. I'm not saying I wouldn't defend myself if needs be, an' Lord knows I've taken life before, but it's my last resort, an' I'd prefer it stays that way.
Never said you should kill anyone. ( jason is fine doing what he does because he's fine being called a monster, most days. he wouldn't want that burden on gene's shoulders anyway. )
I ain't forcing you into shit. I'd rather you not throw hands. ( violence definitely isn't gene's field. ) But I'd prefer knowing you could kick the ass of anyone who tried it if you needed to.
( captain st amos used to say as much. gene can almost hear it in his gruff drawl, an' after a moment he scratches the back of his index finger nail along his browbone. )
( he hops up so he's sitting on the counter, the picture of ease. )
Tell me about it?
( he knows a little. the bad parts, mostly, from what jay's said. but this was always an important part of bein' out on the line together. bringin' those memories alive, so's you felt like there was still somethin' to return to. )
( gene's on the counter, jason--leans against the side of the keyboard. keeps close to the window, just in case. hums soft as he considers where to really start when it comes to gotham. )
Not much to get into. You know the basics. Tall buildings, narrow alleyways. Crazies around every corner, a shitton of homeless. High crime rates, lots of angry assholes throwing their fists up at the sky over goddamn nothing. Lot of mob activity--hell, think I saw more bodies on the streets by the time I was seven than the people in most towns see in their entire goddamn life. ( he almost says metropolis. but honestly, metropolis has been crazy as hell lately too. ) But she's got character. The rich neighborhoods are lavish. The poorer ones have--a crapton of condemned buildings but you'll never find a blank wall. You'll never find a soul in Gotham who doesn't have a story.
( there are bits an' pieces that sound familiar, like the refrain of a song he's sure he's heard. high buildings, narrow alleys, ain't all that different from new york even in the late thirties. homeless makes him think of all those folk in london after the blitz, an' the bodies on the streets... hell, that could be any town they rolled through with any number of dead.
an' hell, the fella who invented soup kitchens was a mobster. )
Beauty in the damndest places, huh? I hear you. Wish I could'a seen it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 07:21 pm (UTC)( his tone is faintly incredulous, because if jason expected him to prefer a lie then he's sorely misrepresented himself. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 07:34 pm (UTC)( and the ones he does, it's only because he's either known them for years or because they keep stepping on him. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 07:37 pm (UTC)Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that fall square under the wheelhouse of bein' a dick anyhow?
( jason, that's real sad. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 09:16 pm (UTC)Mighty low bar, Jay.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 09:21 pm (UTC)( doesn't usually work out well in anyone's favor, honestly. there's a pat to gene's shoulder, easy. )
But I'd still count you pretty high up on my list.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 09:25 pm (UTC)( there's a sharp edge there. anger, maybe, but it ain't quite right. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 11:07 pm (UTC)( because he's soft. because hes a soldier, sure. but jason expects gene to get himself into situations that his words won't get him out of. and he's not weak. he's stubborn as hell, determined, definitely not weak. but maybe a bit easy to throw off guard sometimes and that's concerning enough on it's own. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-16 12:07 am (UTC)( his fingers tighten on the beer bottle. )
I've seen enough of fightin'. I'm not saying I wouldn't defend myself if needs be, an' Lord knows I've taken life before, but it's my last resort, an' I'd prefer it stays that way.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 02:47 am (UTC)I ain't forcing you into shit. I'd rather you not throw hands. ( violence definitely isn't gene's field. ) But I'd prefer knowing you could kick the ass of anyone who tried it if you needed to.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 03:03 am (UTC)( captain st amos used to say as much. gene can almost hear it in his gruff drawl, an' after a moment he scratches the back of his index finger nail along his browbone. )
Fine. But on one condition.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 03:26 am (UTC)Which is?
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 03:30 am (UTC)( he doesn't really expect jason to agree outta turn, but he's also pretty sure he can talk him into it. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 02:48 pm (UTC)( just fyi. but also: )
Sure, alright.
( it's not like learning to dance ever hurt anyone. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 03:30 pm (UTC)Don't you get fussy about linguistics on me now.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 04:22 pm (UTC)Don't you get fussy about linguistics on me now.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 04:34 pm (UTC)( he raises his beer. )
I do miss it, you know. Alabama. Weren't perfect, but it was home.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 05:25 pm (UTC)( still in the mock-accent, but he drops it after he clears his throat. )
Gotham's pretty crappy, but I miss it too.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 05:30 pm (UTC)Tell me about it?
( he knows a little. the bad parts, mostly, from what jay's said. but this was always an important part of bein' out on the line together. bringin' those memories alive, so's you felt like there was still somethin' to return to. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 08:16 pm (UTC)Not much to get into. You know the basics. Tall buildings, narrow alleyways. Crazies around every corner, a shitton of homeless. High crime rates, lots of angry assholes throwing their fists up at the sky over goddamn nothing. Lot of mob activity--hell, think I saw more bodies on the streets by the time I was seven than the people in most towns see in their entire goddamn life. ( he almost says metropolis. but honestly, metropolis has been crazy as hell lately too. ) But she's got character. The rich neighborhoods are lavish. The poorer ones have--a crapton of condemned buildings but you'll never find a blank wall. You'll never find a soul in Gotham who doesn't have a story.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-18 02:07 am (UTC)an' hell, the fella who invented soup kitchens was a mobster. )
Beauty in the damndest places, huh? I hear you. Wish I could'a seen it.